Puzzle #1108 - Solved! 1971 AMC Hornet-Jeep Cowboy Pickup

[Otto Puzzell]

Know what it is?

Please, respond below and let us know the make and model designation of the car posted here.

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Thanks![/center]

[Otto Puzzell]

Experts?

[ImpishGrin]

Another styling buck for some late 60s/early 70s American car?

[Otto Puzzell]

Sorta kinda....

[Otto Puzzell]

This was an actual functioning prototype that got quite near production, I'm lead to understand.

[Otto Puzzell]

Hint - the designation of this vehicle bridges two automotive brands.

[DynaMike]

Wild guess (RHD, V-logo): Australian Chrysler Valiant prototype ?

[@re]

That V-logo is awfully similar to the AutoPuzzles logo, if you ask me...

[DynaMike]

Oops... and I haven't even been drinking today 

[hugo90]

Well, it's a pickup truck, so the two makes would be AMC Hornet and Jeep. 

[Otto Puzzell]

You're right - now what did they call this contraption?

[Otto Puzzell]

Movin' up!

[@re]

This isn't, by any chance, one of the (supposedly) three Cowboy prototypes of 1971, with a different front treatment?

[Otto Puzzell]

Yep - it's the 1971 AMC Hornet-Jeep Cowboy Pickup. I've read multiple accounts of why it didn't reach production:

*Poor rear-end crash performance
*Lots of established small pickup brands from larger competitors
*Lack of 4 wheel drive on the hornet/Gremlin platform (at least in '71)
*Reluctance to spend the money to re-tool the assembly line for yet another variation on a widely-used platform.

That last one seems most plausible, as AMC was infamous for slightly re-skinning cars to  make 'new' models. At the time, the Gremlin - in many option-level and engine variations - as well as 2-door, 4 door and Sportabout (wagon) Hornets - again with  myriad trim levels, options and drivetrains - kept the assembly line humming, and the Hornet liftback (2-door hatch) was gearing up for a late '72 introduction as a '73 model.

[Carnut]

What's this and from when does it date, for 1 point?:

Remember - solving puzzles using 'Google Search by Image' is BANNED on AutoPuzzles!

[Carnut]

Experts?

[exekiel]

Aussie Ford?

[Carnut]

Aussie Ford?

Neither Ford nor from Oz!

[fyreline]

This is an American Motors Corporation prototype pickup based on their Gremlin. I think they called it the "Cowboy", and I seem to remember it being labeled on the tailgate as a Jeep. although I don't know if AMC actually planned to market it that way. In any case, it never made production anyway - which is kind of too bad, it's a cute little truck.

[Carnut]

This is an American Motors Corporation prototype pickup based on their Gremlin. I think they called it the "Cowboy", and I seem to remember it being labeled on the tailgate as a Jeep. although I don't know if AMC actually planned to market it that way. In any case, it never made production anyway - which is kind of too bad, it's a cute little truck.

That's what it is, yes.
Any idea when it was from, just to answer all the questions asked?

[fyreline]

Most sources state 1970, but these same sources then go on to show a different (but similar) vehicle with more of an AMC Hornet look to it, citing the red vehicle in your puzzle as a styling prototype . . . In which case it may date from slightly earlier, say 1969.

[Carnut]

Most sources state 1970, but these same sources then go on to show a different (but similar) vehicle with more of an AMC Hornet look to it, citing the red vehicle in your puzzle as a styling prototype . . . In which case it may date from slightly earlier, say 1969.

1970 is what I have, but I've been looking further into this and I was a bit premature saying all the info you gave was correct..
Apparently the Cowboy was not based on the Gremlin, so I'm going to have to lock this for you to look into further and come back with a revised answer!

[fyreline]

In the early 1970s, AMC was planning a compact pickup based on the Hornet to compete with the increasing sales of Japanese compact pickup models. A prototype called the Cowboy was developed under the leadership of Jim Alexander.The prototype vehicle featured a modified AMC Gremlin front design (this is the red vehicle shown in your quiz picture) and a cargo box with a Jeep logo on the tailgate. The standard I6 engine would be more powerful than the 4-cylinders found in the imported pickups. The only surviving prototype was built using a 1971 Hornet SC360 with the 360 V8 and 4-speed manual transmission. It was used by AMC on their proving grounds for several years before being sold to an employee, who later installed a 1973 Hornet updated front end.(This is the vehicle usually shown if you search "AMC Cowboy) However, with the increasing sales of the Hornet models, and the 1970 acquisition of Jeep and no 4WD option ready for the Cowboy (at the time ALL Jeeps were 4WD), AMC's product planners shelved the Cowboy truck program.

The quiz photo you posted clearly shows the Gremlin front clip. I did point out that other sources show a car based on the AMC Hornet, and call that car the Cowboy - but again, that's not the car shown in your quiz. If your source says it's not Gremlin OR Hornet-based, then that's another story.

[Carnut]

My source says the Cowboy was Hornet-based but the prototypes used a Gremlin front end.
However the same source says that my puzzle picture has a Hornet front end which was fitted by the present owner only in 1977 and was nothing to do with AMC!
So is that front Gremlin or Hornet?!

[fyreline]

The front end on the red car pictured is definitely Gremlin-based, and almost certainly is the only full-sized styling model constructed . . . and also almost certainly a non-runner (no engine or running gear). It makes sense that AMC would have switched to the larger Hornet base for the actual running prototype car . . . even the light-duty trucking this car (if produced) would likely have been called upon to do called for a slightly larger car than the Gremlin-based styling prototype . . . and, in fact, the running prototype is indeed larger and also differs somewhat in the integration of the bed into the cab. It's more "El Camino" looking, where the red Gremlin-based car looks like exactly what it is - a Gremlin cut off behind the driver's seat with a pickup box stuck on it. I would surmise that AMC had second thoughts as to what market a car/truck like this would most appeal to, and went upscale a bit to go after the El Camino - Ranchero market rather than the light pickup market. Probably more room for heavily-optioned models to generate more profit for AMC (badly needed at that time). This is further borne out by the life of the existing car - it was later retrofitted with the biggest AMC V8, sporty wheels, and eventually a newer Hornet front clip. It ended up looking every bit the muscle-car/pickup that the Chevy El Camino SS-396 was. It's really a shame AMC lacked the resources to pursue this car, it's pretty neat. Certainly better-looking in its final iteration than the Gremlin-based vehicle it started out as.

All just my opinion, of course. Lots of "almost certainlys", "likelys", and "surmises" in there . . . but in answer to your question, the red styling prototype is Gremlin-based, and the actual running prototype was Hornet-based after a quick (and in my opinion, wise) rethink by AMC. Whether or not there was more than one running car eventually built is also a matter of conjecture - it went through so many changes over its lifetime that it's easy to see how folks could see the car twice and not think it was the same vehicle. Adding to the confusion is the fact that at least one "AMC Cowboy" has been re-created on a stock Hornet base in recent years. AMC never built this particular car, but it's pretty well-done and it appears at car shows every once in a while.